The present invention relates generally to stringed instruments. More particularly the present invention relates to a guitar wherein the sounding board is partially bent inwardly on one side adjacent the fingerboard thereof to provide additional space for the person playing the guitar to access the higher frets.
In the field of guitar manufacturing and designing it is a continuing objective to produce a guitar that has improved tonal qualities, while configuring the guitar in a manner that makes it easier for the guitarist to play. A significant drawback found in the general configuration of most prior art guitars is the area where the neck portion and the body portion of the guitar are connected. Traditionally, the neck and body of the guitar must be rigidly connected to provide stability and consistency for the tensioning of the strings. The fingerboard that runs along and is affixed to the upper surface of the neck is substantially is arranged to be parallel with and in close proximity to the upper surface of the body of the guitar, known as the soundboard. The fingerboard includes a number of raised lateral bars, known as frets, over which the strings pass. The frets generally are known by their number, i.e. twelfth fret, with the numbers beginning at the distal end of the fingerboard and increasing as they approach the soundboard.
When playing the guitar, the guitarist presses the desired string against one of the frets thereby controlling the length of the string allowed to vibrate when struck resulting in the desired note. This configuration requires that the guitarist have very flexible hands and fingers to reach the correct positions along the fingerboard of the guitar. To further complicate the playing of the guitar, all the highest numbered frets beginning above the body to neck junction are located on the portion of the fingerboard, which rests on the soundboard and is parallel and in close proximity therewith. As a result, on known guitars, the guitarist's hand makes contact with the body portion of the guitar starting around the ninth or tenth position. Above that position, a player is then forced to change the fretting hand position. Further up the neck, above the eleventh position, the fretting hand and the arm must change position. In order to play notes in these higher fret positions, the guitarist must shift his entire arm by elevating it and leaning his body forward to reach around the neck of the guitar thereby gaining a new position above the soundboard of the instrument. After completing this maneuver, the player's fingers must then be forced down with tremendous pressure in order to cause the strings to make contact with the highest frets.
There are several examples of guitar constructions that attempt to aid in the playability of the guitar when playing higher fret positions. One type of construction is illustrated by Mr. Gregory Byers in American Lutherie, No. 64, Winter 2000. The Byers guitar generally includes a neck that is elevated relative to the body. The body has a top soundboard that includes a sound hole, a sloped portion that slopes in an upward, inclined direction away from the sound hole and towards the neck, and a neck receiving slot extending through the sloped portion of the soundboard all the way to the sound hole. According to Mr. Byers, this design improves playability of the twelfth fret.
Another example of this type of modified construction is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,909, issued to Humphrey. As compared to the design noted above, the guitar in the Humphrey patent is disclosed as having a soundboard that includes a sloped portion that slopes in a declined (as opposed to inclined) direction away from the sound hole and towards the neck. Also, the neck sits on a neck base, as opposed to being received in a neck receiving slot. The fingerboard is configured to continue over the soundboard in the plane of the top surface of the neck and is thereby elevated from the surface of the soundboard.
As can be seen each of the preceding examples includes a fret or fingerboard that is raised relative to the surface of the soundboard and the entire surface of the soundboards are sloped relative to the bottom wall of the guitar rather than parallel. To facilitate this particular configuration and maintain the quality of the guitar construction, the necks of the guitar extend all the way to the edge of the sound hole. In this manner, these guitars are intended to ease playability above the twelfth fret. However, the resonance chamber in both of these cases is significantly reduced and the extension of the mounting end of the neck further reduced the resonance chamber and subdivides the interior of the chamber thereby having significant impact on the overall sound quality of the instrument.
There is therefore a need for a unique guitar construction that enhances the ability of the player to play higher fret positions while maintaining the stability and integrity of the guitar construction and not interfering with the traditional aesthetics and tonality achieved in a guitar by providing a substantially open and unrestricted compartment beneath the sound board.